Saint Joseph's head basketball coach Phil Martelli offered this early look at the 2015-16 Hawks with a Q & A over the summer.

What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of this squad?
I start with the quality of people on the team. They have followed those that have gone before them in the way that they handle their business – with their practice habits and their approach to coaching or to being coached and to competing. That's definitely a strength.

I think there's a bubbling discontent with how last year went. We cannot become desperate or anxious – we have to become more efficient. There were so many close games and we didn't do the job. But that starts with me. I have to do more with them whether it's how we practice, or how we develop our depth. And we might have to play a different style with the 30-second shot clock.

Acceptance of their weaknesses is a strength. A weakness of this team is perimeter shooting but they have put in a lot of work to overcome that.

Size is going to be an issue with this team. If Papa (Ndao) comes back healthy, he has to help in the frontcourt but he's more equipped to be a wing player. The size is with Javon (Baumann) and Jai (Williams), but is that the right way to play for us? Do we play smaller? I think it is a strength that we have combinations we have to look at. The unknown is who has gotten better. Have we collectively gotten better? Along with the players the coaching staff has to answer the challenge too.

What difference will the 30-second shot clock make?
I don't think it's going to make any difference at all. I think at the end of the shot clock you're going to see more bad shots. Teams will change defensively and I think you'll see teams delaying pressure and probably playing a little more zone. It takes more time to get a quality shot against zone.

What is the biggest area of improvement needed?
Obviously it's our shooting. We can't struggle to score like last year. It hurt us. It's an easy game if you can score. But if we can't score, we're not beating anybody. That's the biggest challenge and that's what we spent all of our Spring on, improving shooting strokes. Now we've been looking at the pattern and style of play that will mask that weakness and highlight a strength, which hopefully will be depth.

Does the team have depth this year?
I'm hoping we do. It's got to measure out. I'd like to play with eight guys. But I also like to win. So whatever gives us best chance of winning – if it's an eight-man rotation, if it's a 10-man rotation, or if it's a six-man rotation. It's got to be what it's got to be because at the end of the day you don't get a badge for playing guys – you get a badge for winning games.

What does DeAndre' need to do to elevate his game and help the team?
His shooting stroke has to get tighter. It has to stay consistent so when he does get worn down he can maintain that same shooting stroke. That's important for us this season and is important for him for his future. His turnovers have to come down and again, that's important for us and is important for his future. These things are tied together. His foul shooting is a big area of concern... it just doesn't make sense. But the thing that I like about DeAndre' is that despite the successes he's had with winning an Atlantic 10 Championship, being the top freshman in the A-10, and a first team All- League player – he really was the best player in the Atlantic 10 and the Big 5 last year - he has stayed very humble. He lives in the day.

Talk about the freshmen –
(Lamarr Kimble)
“Fresh” has so many wins under his belt. The thing that I've observed about him is that the ball's never stuck – the ball's out of his hand and goes to the next person. Whether it's on his high school team or traveling the circuit with his AAU team, he's a 'blender'. He doesn't need to star and he doesn't look to star. He plays the game for the reason of his team winning.  If his team wins, then he takes value in them winning. We're going to have to accelerate his physical conditioning to play point guard, with the demands of playing that position for a freshman. We're going to have to tighten everything up and speed everything up with him.

(Chris Clover)
Chris is a scorer and is physically ready to play college basketball. He has an incredible work ethic and he can score in a lot of different ways. I think that he is very willing to be mentored by DeAndre' and James. He has a high basketball IQ, as do Lamarr and Checco (Oliva). Chris is going to be counted on to score some baskets and to ride out some rough spots, which he will have because he's a freshman.
 
(Pierfrancesco Oliva)
Checco has a view of the game at the offensive end that is very mature. Defensively, he's going to learn and he's going to have to be a studier of scouting reports. He has the best shooting form on the team. The gold standard for us is Pat Carroll's shooting form and Checco's form, not results, is better than Pat's. He's also a very creative passer, like Halil Kanacevic was. Checco is a very skilled young guy.

(Markell Lodge)
Markell is really excited. Every day he walks into the gym is like Christmas Eve for a five- year old. Everyone knows about his jumping prowess but he's a very good defender and a very good rim protector. He can play against bigger guys because of his athletic gifts. An area that I need to work on with him is that he has to catch the ball cleanly. But he's not coming here to be the next Ron Roberts – he's coming here to be Markell Lodge. 

Talk about some of the returning players -
(Aaron Brown)
I'd like to see him become more consistent in practice. If things worked where Markell and Checco and Papa all add to the frontcourt, then Aaron may move to the wing. The thing I like about Aaron is he's an honorable guy. He recognizes the flaws and he'll allow us to coach him, but at the same time, he's fiercely competitive.

(James Demery)
If people want to root for somebody, you root for a guy with James' character to have success. He's a terrific young guy. But he's got to be better. He played and really, I was in shock as we went through the season that he wasn't one of the best freshman in the A-10. But it is what it is. We have to see some improvement.

(Brendan Casper)
He was needed at times and did some nice things. If he can add to the depth, that would be tremendous. I love his confidence. He's another worker. He looks forward to the opportunity to be in the gym. Almost everyone on this team does and that's a good sign and a good starting point.

(Shavar Newkirk)
I think there's going to be a very healthy competition for the point guard spot. Shavar needs to shoot the ball better. He's got to make college decisions at the rim. He has to flow a little bit more. I think that he's better than he showed last year. Again, with his character and the work that he's put in – you want good things to happen for him.

(Jai Williams and Javon Baumann)
There's going to be an opportunity and it's going to be what they make of it. Jai and Javon are big bodies but they're not going to be out there to just be a fifth guy. There's going to be opportunities to present themselves and we're going to need them to step forward. – as we are with everybody.

What are your thoughts on the Atlantic 10 this season?

What do you think about the schedule?  
Anytime you can start your schedule with likes of Villanova, Temple and Florida and then add in Illinois State and Virginia Tech, it's strong. But it really comes down to three or four games. I say it all the time - does the non-conference portion of our schedule prepare us for the Atlantic 10?  If our results warrant it, our schedule will never prevent us from being on the board at the end. Our wins and losses might, but our schedule will not. We're very aware of our students wanting to see us play at home and hopefully our fan base will also support us at home which could make a big difference at the end of the year.